How does doing no work on the Sabbath make it holy?

[Tobiwan]

REMEMBER THE SABBATH. What a fantastic way to say and remind them and us to "Don't forget the Sabbath" We today need to remember the history of the people God was talking to. They were recently freed slaves, with very little remembering of God. (imagine that, I wonder what God would say to us as a group of people) This invitation is much more then saying "do not work" and by the way God will not give any points for not pushing an elevator button on the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a reminder of their origin and Gods involvement in their history. It is a reminder that God is wanting the good news about a good God to be shared with all the nations and to invite all the nations to come and visit in the tent He was instructing them to build for Him. It was a plan for them and also we today to avoid an "us/them" and a "My God is bigger and stronger then yours" mentality.

The Sabbath. what a great gift from a loving God

[JonathanPenner]

A synonym for the word holy is consecrated, set apart. In other words, the Sabbath is not like other days. There is a separation of "doing work" from the other days. And it is an element that contributes to the Holiness of the Sabbath.

Imagine that a husband and wife are in the midst of passionately making love. When all of a sudden the man stops, turns to his wife and says, "honey I just remembered that I need to go outside and finish mowing the lawn. It'll only take a few minutes. then I'll be back and we can keep things going."

What kind of experience would either have? It would shatter the moment, destroy the chemistry, and send an unequivocal message to the wife that what they were sharing wasn't really that good or important.

How about the Sabbath. It's like this deliciously sensual day of delight where we step back and admire all that God has create, all that He has helped us create, and then soak up the relational oneness we share with God and His people.

Whatever work we choose to do on the Sabbath absolutely violates this experience. So while we may have "essential" work that has to be attended to, any work we can remove from the day, simply allows us to more intimately engage in the blessing and experience.

[Gail]

I don't ever want to work any of my holi-days!!!

[hfig]

Hello Everyone I'm new here and please forgive me if I offend anyone, I just wanted to add a little food for thought. 30+ years in the church and and I've heard the "Remember to keep the Sabbath day Holy" quote countless times, but what about the rest of the command?

Here is the NKJV translation:

8 “ Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God...."

I believe, if we did do all of our work (as commanded) in the six days, it wouldn't be as hard for some to see the real blessing and Holiness of the Sabbath day. It would be very easy to "remember". How many times have we purposefully procrastinated something because we were "tired" or for some other reason, and couldn't stop thinking about it on Sabbath as something that we would have to take care of as soon as Sabbath was over. How easy it is for our weak minds to be distracted from something so beautiful and Holy? Which is why I think the part about laboring on the six other days was put in the command. Unfortunately their are a lot of people who don't work to the fullest of their God given capabilities (including myself sometimes) during the week and therefore I believe have a much harder time "remembering".

Anyways, speaking of work, i'd better get back to it, have a Happy Sabbath everyone.

[Gail]

Thank you for your food for thought, and for giving us something to chew on!

Welcome, hfig! (Harry)

[Overaged]

The 24 hour period of the Sabbath is not in and of itself holy in the sense that God is holy. The Sabbath meets each of us where we are - literally. The Sabbath starts and ends for me at a different time than it does for folks that live a bit north of me or a bit in any direction from me. God created the Sabbath for man and not man for the Sabbath. Not doing work amounts to a day off or what most folks in society today call a holiday. Broken apart the word holiday becomes holy-day. That is what the Sabbath is.

Have you ever seen a picture of a man sitting on the beach working on his lap-top with his cell phone near by while his family is out in the ocean playing in the tide? Doesn't such a picture scream that something is wrong? The man is on vacation and should be spending time with his family but instead has yet to leave his office. His job is taking priority over his family.

The Sabbath is our holiday to spend with God.

Maybe that man was just studying his Bible on the laptop; and maybe he had his cell phone there because he was keeping track of his elderly sick mother at home.

Maybe the Sabbath itself actually is holy because God said so quite a few times. Here are two quick examples:

Exo 16:23 And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD:

Exo 35:2 Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD:

[Dr. Shane]

Maybe the Sabbath itself actually is holy because God said so quite a few times.

The Sabbath is a symbol. It is holy but not in the same way that God Himself is holy. The ark of the covenant wasn't in itself holy. It was holy because of God's presence. The wood and the gold it was made out of had no holiness of their own. So it is with the hours of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is to be holy because we enter into the presence of God. It is symbolic of the rest we will find in heaven and is a memorial of creation.

[miz3]

How does this text from John, fit into this discussion on the Sabbath? Are we to copy Christ and "work" on the Sabbath? Jesus also states that His Father never has and never will cease to work!

"So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. 17 Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.” 18 For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God."

John 5:16-18.

I guess Jesus worked on the Sabbath!

[Flyboy]

I guess Jesus worked on the Sabbath!

Sure he did, healing people, preaching.... just like our nurses, docs, and pastors do today.

You'd be hard pressed to find any reference suggesting Jesus was out on the Sabbath taking up his old trade of carpentry.

I think it is generally viewed as Biblically sound to do certain jobs on the Sabbath. If these jobs are not routine, if they involve a public service that will not wait until later, or if they involve, specifically, ministering or healing.

What public service jobs are acceptable on Sabbath? I would argue that police, fire, anything medical, and even some jobs in the military. That should open another can of worms... with Desmond Doss being the posterboy. He was very brave and I can admire his courage, but I'm not sure that God requires this of us.

Other than those jobs we should take time to spend with God, let our mind rest, and enter into his holiness.

[Sonny]

Sure he did, healing people, preaching.... just like our nurses, docs, and pastors do today.

Except Jesus didn't charge a fee....He didn't do it for a paycheck. He did it because He lived to serve.

[Flyboy]

Except Jesus didn't charge a fee....He didn't do it for a paycheck. He did it because He lived to serve.

We could try it but I think the church structure would break down pretty quickly, and then we'd have all those Biblically mandated tithes just accruing in the bank.

[CoAspen]

Just figured out how the world is going to end.....ever seen the wave performed at a sporting event....weeell.......let's imagine it represents to stoppage of all work starting at sundown Friday and as the day travels around the world and everything comes to a grinding halt...well, you get the picture!!

(I hope)

[Sonny]

Originally Posted By: Sonny

Except Jesus didn't charge a fee....He didn't do it for a paycheck. He did it because He lived to serve.

We could try it but I think the church structure would break down pretty quickly....

Jesus doesn't depend on your money. He will have the stones cry out if the church doesn't restore the gospel.

[phkrause]

How does this text from John, fit into this discussion on the Sabbath? Are we to copy Christ and "work" on the Sabbath? Jesus also states that His Father never has and never will cease to work!

"So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. 17 Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.” 18 For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God."

John 5:16-18.

I guess Jesus worked on the Sabbath!

From Welfare Ministry, pg.77

Welfare Ministry on the Sabbath—According to the fourth commandment the Sabbath was dedicated to rest and religious worship. All secular employment was to be suspended, but works of mercy and benevolence were in accordance with the purpose of the Lord. They were not to be limited to time or place. To relieve the afflicted, to comfort the sorrowing, is a labor of love that does honor to God’s holy day.—;Redemption: or the Teachings of Christ, no. 4, p. 46. {WM 77.1}

I thought that was an interesting quote from EGW used by Pastor Dwight Nelson today. So I thought I'd share it.

[Sonny]

All secular employment was to be suspended....

Why? What does this symbolize?

[Flyboy]

Sonny,

So everyone in our church should be paid for their labors except for pastors?

How about we just pay pastors to work throughout the week, ministering to people, and then they preach on the sabbath but don't get paid for it? No need to change their pay, just change the wording of the contract.

Jesus day was different, easier to survive with much less money. No light bill, water bill, gas/car bill, insurance, phone bill, internet, cable tv, school bills. Really... food and tithe, plus a few other misc items probably. I don't know of any church today, any denomination, that doesn't pay its pastors.

[addvantage]

Where I am, the time of sundown is 12 minutes before the "official" time that is listed in the weather reports... and in the church bulletins. I find this to be consistent throughout the year. I would go out on Friday afternoon and watch the sun go down to where the last ray is seen on a clear cloudless day, and that would always be 12 minutes before the listed "official" time. I am certain that the means by which the "official" time of sundown in any location is just as flawed everywhere else as it is here. I see nowhere in Scripture that tells us to follow the crowd, or the "official" reports of the heathen. They are no better off in telling us when a day ends and begins than they do in telling us when sundown is. I think everyone should mark the precise time of sundown in their area and note the difference from the "official" report. Then from week to week, adjust their calculated time from the "official" time, and give due honor to guard the edges of the Sabbath.

I believe we should do as God did and rest on His holy day. The day was blessed and made holy, and our not working on that day does not add to the holiness of that day.

[addvantage]

How many cook their food on the Sabbath after church?

"All through the week keep the Lord's holy Sabbath in view, for that day is to be devoted to the service of God."(CG 527.3)

"On Friday let the preparation for the Sabbath be completed. See that all the clothing is in readiness, and that all the cooking is done. Let the boots be blacked, and the baths be taken ... The Sabbath is not to be given to the repairing of garments, to the cooking of food, to pleasure seeking, or to any other worldly employment. Before the setting of the sun, let all secular work be laid aside, and all secular papers be put out of sight." (CG 528.2)

"Everything that can possibly be done on the six days which God has given to you, should be done. You should not rob God of one hour of holy time." (2T 701.3)

"There is another work that should receive attention on the preparation day. On this day all differences between brethren, whether in the family or in the church, should be put away." (CG 528.5)

"Before the setting of the sun, let the members of the family assemble to read God's Word, to sing and pray." (CG 529.1)

"Let not the precious hours of the Sabbath be wasted in bed. On Sabbath morning the family should be astir early. If they rise late, there is confusion and bustle in preparing for breakfast and Sabbath school. There is hurrying, jostling, and impatience. Thus unholy feelings come into the home. The Sabbath, thus desecrated, becomes a weariness, and its coming is dreaded rather than loved." (CG 530.2)

"Pleasure seeking, ball playing, swimming, was not a necessity, but a sinful neglect of the sacred day sanctified by Jehovah." (3SM 258.3)

"We would charge all not to wash their dishes on the Sabbath if this can possibly be avoided. God is dishonored by any unnecessary work done on His holy day. It is not inconsistent, but proper, that the dishes should be left unwashed till the close of the Sabbath, if this can be managed." (3SM 258.4).

"Above everything, take care of your children upon the Sabbath. Do not let them violate it, for you may just as well violate it yourself as to let your children do it. When you suffer your children to play upon the Sabbath, God looks upon you as a commandment breaker. You transgress His Sabbath."(3SM 257.3) "As the sun goes down, let the voice of prayer and the hymn of praise mark the close of the sacred hours, and invite God's presence through the cares of the week of labor." (CG 536.3)

[Sonny]

Sonny, Jesus day was different, easier to survive with much less money.

Really? Why don't you try being selfless - no thoughts of yourself? Why not try living Christ's life of self-denial? Instead you live in comfort with all those things you need. Christ didn't live for Himself. We do. We are sinners.

“The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.” Those who follow him must share his poverty. “If any man will come after me,” he declares, “let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” “So shall ye be my disciples.” [RH 7-4-1912]

[CoAspen]

Soooo, where do you live, a tent or a stone building, dirt floors, carry your water in a stone jar, cook your food over an open fire, build and move a latrine, etc, etc. Work in the fields, herding sheep or what ever, how do you get from one place to another, mule, donkey, walk and in sandals or barefoot?

Tell us your definition of selfless living and how you accomplish it.

[Sonny]

Soooo, where do you live, a tent or a stone building, dirt floors, carry your water in a stone jar, cook your food over an open fire, build and move a latrine, etc, etc. Work in the fields, herding sheep or what ever, how do you get from one place to another, mule, donkey, walk and in sandals or barefoot?

Tell us your definition of selfless living and how you accomplish it.

I'm a sinner like yourself...saved my God's grace. Sin is selfishness. It's being bent to self. Everything, according to the Bible, in this world is based in iniquity.

[Sonny]

It's quiet

[CoAspen]

You made a statement which I understand...but it does not answer my question/s in any way.

[Sonny]

You made a statement which I understand...but it does not answer my question/s in any way.

My answer is that everything in this world is based on the principle of self-seeking. If you live for others only you will be without. Hence Christ was without.

The poor are not without because they are living Christ's life. They've lost in a world where the rich man rules. They've lost in a world of competition for the top spot. They've been defeated by a dog eat dog world were others had a better monopoly on selfishness and power.

Jesus was poor because He never "thought...planned ..or..lived for himself". Everything He did He did with others in mind...even His enemies. That's commandment keeping....That's keeping the law.

So, again, what does your Sabbath keeping mean?

[CoAspen]

Quote:

Tell us your definition of selfless living and how you accomplish it.

Details, not pious sounding phraseology!